Tag: Marshmallow

July 27, 2015

Cluck cluck #2

SO. I have been remiss. Friends, stalkers, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you sans blog for two whole weeks. Finishing off my graphic design portfolio kind of consumed my health, social life, eating habits and ability to hold a conversation.

But that’s done now, and I’m back. Picking up where I left off with Vicky’s hen do favours. This week it’s raspberry and white chocolate, and chocolate caramel marshmallows. Not exactly the first time I have made marshmallows on this blog. I really want you to make marshmallows guys.

You will need

For the white chocolate and raspberry marshmallows:

9 gelatine sheets

350g/12 oz granulated sugar

2 egg whites

1 tbsp liquid glucose (you can find this in a squeezy toothpaste type tube in the baking section)

150g/5 oz raspberries

150g/5 oz white chocolate

Freeze dried raspberries (optional)

For the caramel and chocolate marshmallows:

9 gelatine sheets

300g/10.5 oz granulated sugar

2 egg whites

1 tbsp liquid glucose

2-3 tsp caramel extract (I got buttery caramel from natural professional flavours at Lakeland)

150g/5 oz milk chocolate

Cellophane card bags x 30

(makes enough for 30 favours, 150+ marshmallows)

I’ll go ahead and walk you through the process for the caramel ones then pop the changes for the raspberry below.

Step one

In a cereal bowl, soak the gelatine in 150ml/5 fl oz cold water. Set aside.

Step two

Combine the sugar, 150ml/5 fl oz water (different to the gelatine water) and the liquid glucose in a smallish saucepan.

Allow the sugar to dissolve on a low heat, and then turn it up to medium-high. Watch yourself buddy, you’re boiling sugar right now, don’t hurt it or yourself.

The temperature you want this to get to is 118 C. It will feel like it will never get there, but stay strong.

Step three

While the sugar is bubbling you can take a moment to dust your brownie tray with icing sugar. Add a small amount of olive oil first so it sticks.

Step four

When the sugar gets to somewhere around 112-115C whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks. Take care not to use a ceramic bowl else you will get grey marks like I did. Glass or metal though and you’ll be golden.

Step five

When the sugar reaches 118C take it off the heat.

Squeeze the gelatine out a bit and add it to the sugar mix. It will bubble right up so don’t panic. It should settle pretty quickly.

Step six

Pour the hot sugar into the eggs, but make sure you’re whisking continually to avoid a big lump of sugar at the bottom of the bowl.

Whisk until the mixture holds its shape well and is quite thick. This can take up to ten minutes.

Somewhere during the whisking (probably when you need to give your arm a rest) add the flavouring. I used buttery caramel (as mentioned in the ingredients) but they will take basically anything you fancy.

Step seven

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth out as much as possible.

Dust with icing sugar and leave to set for about an hour.

For the raspberry and white chocolate marshmallows

Step eight

Before starting the marshmallow mix make a puree by adding the raspberries, 50g of the granulated sugar and half a tablespoon of water to a small saucepan.

Heat on a low heat until bubbling away happily. Stir while the mixture reduces (looses water) for about 5 minutes.

Step nine

Strain though a sieve to remove the pips. It may need a little stirring for encouragement. Don’t forget to scrape the excess off from the underside of the sieve before throwing away the pips.

Step ten

Follow the same steps at the caramel recipe, but instead of adding the extract, stir in the puree. I saved this to near the end to keep a bit of a ripple effect.

Step eleven

Pour into a second dusted brownie tray and leave to set.

Step twelve

Once the marshmallows have set (at least an hour, preferably more) turn them out onto a surface dusted with icing sugar.

Cut them into cubes, and dust all the sides. Don’t worry if they are a little sticky, they will dry out a bit more.

Try not to eat them all just yet.

Step thirteen

Lay the caramel marshmallows out in rows on greaseproof paper or cellophane and melt the milk chocolate. I used a piping bag to drizzle the chocolate over the marshmallows, you could use a sandwich bag and snip the corner.

Step fourteen

Repeat with the raspberry and white chocolate marshmallows.

Step fifteen

Once the chocolate has set place 5 in each bag, 2 of one flavour, 3 of the other, alternating as you go so you don’t run out of one.

As I mentioned last post I’ll be doing a wrap up post with all the finishing touches, so stay tuned for that. For now, here’s our lovely hen chowing down:

March 23, 2015

Hippity-poppity

It’s almost EASTER.

I’ve had these little bunny pops in my mind’s eye for a while now. I’ll precursor this post with saying they don’t look exactly how I imagined. Sure, they do look a bit like Pikachu, but they are scrummy, so I vote worth the time if you’ve a free afternoon and a healthy dose of patience in your arsenal.

You will need

9 gelatine sheets

300g/10.5 oz granulated sugar

2 egg whites

1 tbsp liquid glucose (you can find this in a squeezy toothpaste type tube in the baking section)

2-3 tsp extract of your choice (but I HIGHLY recommend ‘buttery caramel’ from the natural professional flavours range – bought at Lakeland)

600-800g/1lb 5 oz – 1lb 12 oz chocolate for dipping (having sampled milk and white, I’d go white)

Sugar confetti for faces

Edible ink pen (or melted dark chocolate and a cocktail stick)

Icing sugar for dusting

A sugar thermometer

A bunny cutter (I got this from Amazon)

A handful of mini marshmallows (for fluffy bunny tails)

Cake pop sticks

Step one

In a cereal bowl, soak the gelatine in 150ml/5 fl oz cold water. Set aside.

Step two

Combine the sugar, 150ml/5 fl oz water (different to the gelatine water) and the liquid glucose in a smallish saucepan. Allow the sugar to dissolve on a low heat, and then turn it up to medium-high. Be careful not to burn the sugar or any of your extremities.

The temperature you want this to get to is 118 C. It will feel like it will never get there, but stay strong.

Step three

While the sugar is bubbling away take the opportunity to dust a brownie tin with icing sugar. Use a really small amount of olive oil before dusting to hold the icing sugar to the pan.

Step four

Place the egg whites in a metal or glass bowl, never plastic. Or you know, if you want to wreck your lovely Mason Cash bowl by using an electric whisk on it, by all means do. Those handsome grey marks? You could have those too.

When the sugar gets to somewhere around 112-115C whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks.

Step five

When the sugar reaches 118C take it off the heat.

Squeeze the gelatine out a bit and add it to the sugar mix. It will bubble right up so don’t panic. It should settle pretty quickly.

Step six

Pour the hot sugar into the eggs, but make sure you’re whisking continually to avoid a big lump of sugar at the bottom of the bowl.

Whisk until the mixture holds its shape well and is quite thick. This can take up to ten minutes.

Somewhere during the whisking (probably when you need to give your arm a rest) add the flavouring. Vanilla extract is lovely in these but they will take basically anything you fancy. Like I said in the ingredients list I really recommend ‘Buttery Caramel’ from the Natural Professional Flavours brand.

Step seven

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth out as much as possible.

Dust with icing sugar and leave to set for about an hour.

Step eight

Turn the marshmallow out onto a clean surface.

Cut as many bunnies as you can out of the sheet of marshmallow. This will vary depending on your tin and cutter size. I got nine out of mine.

Step nine

Melt a couple of pieces of chocolate in the microwave.

Dip the cake pop sticks in and push them into the bottom of the bunnies. I put mine in up to the head to increase stability. Leave to set.

Step ten

I recommend tempering the chocolate. Then you will get a nice snap when you bite into the pops and you can use the remaining chocolate to do something like this. Don’t feel you have to though, it will work without.

To temper, melt two thirds of the chocolate over a pan of boiling water and allow it to reach 45C. Remove it from the heat and add the rest of the chocolate. This should melt in and cool it down quicker. Stir it to cool down to 25C. Place it back on the heat to get it back up to 28C.

Step eleven

Place the chocolate into a small deep bowl (or I actually found with the milk chocolate that a glass works really well).

Dip the bunnies in and make sure to coat well. Allow excess chocolate to drip off, twirl it round to get an even, smooth coating.

This is where I ran into a spot of difficulty and filled my left hand with bunny pops that were covered in melted chocolate. I suggest you a) get a spare pair of willing hands, b) get a block of florist’s oasis/cake pop stand to stick them in, c) accept the back of them won’t be beautiful and lay them down on cellophane or greaseproof paper.

Step twelve

Once dry, add their little faces and tails. I used a cocktail stick with a small amount of melted chocolate to stick on sugar decorations. I got the little hearts I used for the noses from Tiger, and I can’t be sure about the circles for the cheeks.

I drew the faces on with an edible ink pen I bought online. You could use a cocktail stick and some dark chocolate if you prefer.

Step thirteen

Tie a piece of twine or ribbon around the stick and make a day a little bit happier.

August 3, 2014

Fit for a mountie

Given that I’m doing a little afternoon tea series I thought I would share a recipe that I adapted for a lovely lady’s bridal shower recently. It’s a little less traditional than your average, but nice and light, definitely a worthwhile addition to any afternoon tea table. In honour of said bride-to-be I made these marshmallows maple flavoured as she hails from a distant land (Canada).

Some speculation as to whether or not marshmallows are easy enough to make trickled around the bridal shower. My answer in case you are wondering, is that they aren’t the most straightforward, but definitely do-able, and very satisfying. These guys make your house smell incredible too, so if you’re tempted, give it a go!

Disclaimer: don’t make these for vegetarians or you will be met with narrowed eyes. On the upside, they are great for the gluten free. Unless they are vegetarian.

You will need

9 Gelatine sheets

300g/10.5 oz Granulated sugar

100g/3.5 oz Maple syrup

100g/3.5 oz Milk chocolate

2 Egg whites

1 tbsp Liquid glucose (you can find this in a squeeze toothpaste type tube in the baking section)

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Icing sugar

A sugar thermometer

Step one

Lightly oil a deep baking tray/brownie tin. Dust with icing sugar and set aside.

Step two

Put the gelatine sheets in 150ml/3.5 fl oz cold water and leave to soak. I snapped mine in half, but don’t break them up any more than that.

Step three

Put the sugar, glucose and maple syrup in a saucepan (the heavier the better). Add 150ml/3.5 fl oz water and put on a low heat.

Patience is key here as you will feel like eternity is passing you by while you’re waiting for it to get to the right temperature. It’s worth doing this stage slowly so you don’t burn the sugar etc etc. Make sure you have some snacks to hand.

It will smell so good you will want to put your face in it. Don’t.

Step four

When the thermometer reaches about 115C/230F start beating the egg whites. Do this in a glass/metal bowl, as plastic ones tend to be a bit oily, no matter how hard you scrub them.

Step five

When the thermometer reaches 127C/260F turn the heat off and add the soaked gelatine. Don’t add the excess water though, just fish it out and give it a little squeeze. When you do this you will forgive me for not having a photo of it; the mixture fizzes and bubbles in quite an intimidating fashion.

Step six

Get the whisk going in the eggs again, and slowly pour the hot sugar mixture into them as you go. Move the beaters continually so that you don’t end up with a lump of hard sugar at the bottom of the bowl.

Step seven

Add vanilla extract and keep whisking.

Step eight

Whisk some more.

Step nine

Have someone come and support your arm if you need to, but keep on whisking my friend.

Step ten

When the mixture (about 10 minutes later) becomes really thick and gloopy it’s time to stop. Hallelujah. A good measure for this is when bottom of the bowl (on the outside) has cooled down.

Step eleven

Pour the marshmallow into the brownie tin you prepared earlier.

Step twelve

Dust the top with icing sugar and leave to set for a few hours. This is your opportunity to go and see the doctor about the muscle death in your right arm. (Kidding).

Step thirteen

Turn the marshmallow out onto a clean surface with a satisfying flump.

Use a bread knife to cut it into long strips and then cubes. The trick is to make your strips as wide as your mallows are deep to get square(ish) shapes. Dust all the sides in icing sugar as you go.

Generally I find I don’t need any extra icing sugar for this, as a lot comes off the top when you turn it out.

Step fourteen

Place the cubes on a sheet of greaseproof paper. Melt the milk chocolate (slowly in a microwave) and using a piping bag drizzle them lightly. Leave to dry and you’re done!

There we have it. Maple marshmallows. Nowhere near as difficult to make as I made them sound, I promise.